the girl prince can't have shit i guess

2.20.26

(i refer to Oscar as a woman and use she / her throughout this because ultimately that’s how the narrative defines her BUT. if you interpret Oscar as trans I think you’re correct. anyways.)

learned the word "bifauxnen" today

I recently finished Rose of Versailles, slowly working through my Shojo Required Reading list. I’m still working out how to articulate my thoughts on it, though of course I was immediately endeared to Oscar. Put an androgynous person in melodramatic gender situations and I am sitting and nodding and listening.

I think that indelicate and even transgressive explorations of gender nonconformity can be appealing (just a little misguided more than anything outright malicious in Oscar’s case), but even so it got a bit frustrating to sit through at times, probably parts of her struggle hit close to home.

media analysis NOW

Her otherness seems to be both celebrated and condemned by the narrative. In some instances, her masculinity is portrayed as exemplary. A commanding presence in battle, an adept swordfighter. She is praised by male characters until her “true” identity is revealed. Only then are her masculine traits and talents considered shameful, a waste.

There’s a lot of scenes where girls will fawn over Oscar too, whether they’ve realized she’s a woman or not. Sometimes it’s for the bit, other times it’s blatantly romantic.

These moments are illustrated with an abundance of flowers and sparkles, appearing to validate Oscar’s expression (or at least portray it as desirable); the pessimist in me could also make a case for a mild corruption trope coming into play here.

Oscar herself laments her nonconformity throughout the narrative as well. She apologizes for not being born a man and prompts the women in her life to seek out men instead of pining after her. I think there’s a lot of denial going on here, her inner monologue constantly ping-pongs between “god i wish i was born a man” and “god i need a man to fix me”.

um. cut him in half

To externalize this conflict and because this is a manga from the 1970s, the men in Rose of Versailles attempt to “correct” or exert ownership over her on multiple occasions. Another unsavory pattern that tends to follow Oscar’s character archetype is the threat of sexual assault.

In Andre’s case, the act is framed as an acceptance of her nonconformity and a desire to protect what he views as unique, though it plays out as Oscar facing the consequence of rejecting the expectations placed on women during this time period.

While men who react with violence after feeling emasculated by her identity and position of authority are openly condemned, the actions of men who have fallen in love with Oscar are justified. Notably, Girodelle’s attempt to force a marriage between the two is eventually reexamined with sympathy.

the french are not ok

The push and pull between her sense of duty as a soldier and a desire to experience a denied femininity is constantly influenced by outside spectators who wish to enforce their perceptions of gender on her. Vouyeurs surround and interrogate her sense of self, shaped by a fairly wanton predetermination from her father.

I think that’s the most tragic part about Oscar to me. She was never allowed the agency to explore the kind of person she may have wanted to be. When an opportunity presented itself, it was never on her own terms. While she was able to present as a woman in one instance, it was in service to a different objective.

It was a bit out of desperation too, much like her eventual relationship with Andre. It felt as though she was only searching for anyone who would be able to provide some sense of security, to help her against the rising stakes of later chapters.

Despite arguably being another example of “the horrors of womanhood” media, I feel that Rose of Versailles didn’t outwardly exploit Oscar. Though it sometimes seems to ogle her otherness, the narrative takes its time in working through her frustration and selfish moments while still positioning her with dignity.